Product Description

The long-awaited novel from this prize- winning author: an epic mystical drama of a young woman's sudden sainthood in late-19th century Mexico. It is 1889 and civil war is brewing in Mexico. A 16 year old girl, Teresita, illegitimate but beloved daughter of the wealthy and powerful rancher Don Tomas Urrea, wakes from the strangest dream. This passionate and rebellious young woman has arisen from death with a power to heal - but it will take all her faith to endure the trials that await her now that she has become the 'Saint of Cabora.'

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111499 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Customer Reviews

A rich tapestry of a story with flat characters
Urrea is a virtuoso in the use of descriptive language. His story brings to life a rich tapestry of life in the Mexico of Porfirio Diaz. The book oscillates between the rational outlook of Tomas, patron of the estate on which the story is set and the world of magical realism which Teresita, his daughter and the protagonist of the novel, inhabits. Magical realism in Latin American literature can sometimes border on being inaccessible to readers of different cultures, but here it is essential to the storyline and effectively draws the reader into the world of the local people. Unfortunately, the characters in the book are decidedly flat. Despite the marvelous descriptions of the physical world in the novel, Urrea fails to portray the inner lives of his characters in a convincing way. This leads to key junctures in the plot becoming almost uninterpretable. We are left wondering what has motivated the sudden decision by the promiscuous Tomas, who has previously been completely heedless of the fate of the children he has fathered, to adopt one of them while rejecting another. The reader's surprise at this turn of events becomes astonishment when later in the book that same son who was rejected is suddenly given charge of the estate. Many of the events of the book take the reader by surprise because of a lack of character development. Nevertheless, the story is an enjoyable read, and a fascinating window into the world of 19th Century Mexico.